Cargando…

School-based obesity prevention interventions in Latin America: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of school-based interventions to prevent obesity conducted in Latin America and provide suggestions for future prevention efforts in countries of the region. METHODS: Articles published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese between 2000 and 2...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Chavez, Rosemary Cosme, Nam, Eun Woo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7593024/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33146300
http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/s1518-8787.2020054002038
Descripción
Sumario:OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of school-based interventions to prevent obesity conducted in Latin America and provide suggestions for future prevention efforts in countries of the region. METHODS: Articles published in English, Spanish, and Portuguese between 2000 and 2017 were searched in four online databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, LILACS, and REDALYC). Inclusion criteria were: studies targeting school-aged children and adolescents (6–18 years old), focusing on preventing obesity in a Latin American country using at least one school-based component, reporting at least one obesity-related outcome, comprising controlled or before-and-after design, and including information on intervention components and/or process. RESULTS: Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Most effective interventions (n = 3) had moderate quality and included multi-component school-based programs to promote health education and parental involvement focused on healthy eating and physical activity behaviors. These studies also presented a better study designs, few limitations for execution, and a minimum duration of six months. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence-based prevention experiences are important guides for future strategies implemented in the region. Alongside gender differences, an adequate duration, and the combined use of quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods, evidence-based prevention should be considered to provide a clearer and deeper understanding of the true effects of school-based interventions.